With the masterful ability to create the most dazzling melodic
fantasies from his imagination and virtually any kaleidoscopic effect
from his keyboards, multi-instrumentalist and composer Philippe Saisse
decided to streamline the overall sound of his new recording, NeXT
Voyage, even while heightening the musical sophistication and
cutting-edge feel of his second Verve Forecast release.

"I wanted to incorporate a little more of the current R&B and hip hop
production values that R.Kelly or Babyface might use," Saisse
explains, "and apply them to my own kind of instrumental jazz. The
simpler grooves and background accompaniment make this record a lot
more urban than the last."

Applying more than two decades of accumulated wisdom to NeXT Voyage,
which he recorded and mixed in his own home studio, with production
assistance from Eric Calvi, Saisse successfully simplified both the
structure and the details of his sound. "If you look at the first
songs I wrote for Chaka Khan or David Sanborn," he explains, "they
were extremely complex, with odd time signatures and intricate chord
progressions. The concept that Eric and I had for this album was to
lighten up the production and position the piano as the main voice, in
the same way that vocals are the focus of a pop record."

With his keyboards at the forefront of NeXT Voyage, Saisse recruited
such veterans as trombonist Michael Davis, saxophonists Kirk Whalum
and Andy Snitzer, trumpeter Jeff Beal, guitarists Steve Khan and Marc
Antoine, and percussionist Cyro Baptista, as well as 23-year-old
Philadelphia trumpet phenomenon Jason Golley, to add spare
accompaniment. To accent the urban feel, he brought in New York
turntable artist B-Wiz, who adds subtle DJ scratches and sound effects
to such tracks as "Land of the Flying Funk" and "Native Son", and poet
and spoken word artist D-Knowledge, who appears on "Miracle," the CD's
only vocal track.

Tracks :

Land of Flying Funk
Moanin'
Riviera
NeXt Voyage
Back Into FX
Film Noir
Native Son
Eyz on You
Phar Cry
Young Nation
Miracle
Film Noir (Lemmy Caution Mix)